It depicts the biblical scene of the Annunciation, where the archangel Gabriel visits Mary to announce that she will give birth to Jesus.

Perhaps influenced by the fundamentalist teachings of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Tanner uses a column of light to depict Gabriel and paints Mary in peasant clothing with no halo or other discernible holy attributes.

The room where the scene takes place is furnished with textiles, ceramics, and stone flooring—elements that would reappear in Tanner's later biblical paintings.

[2] The trip was sponsored by Rodman Wanamaker, whose comment that "in the Orient the light, both interior and exterior, the mannerisms of the people, the costumes and habits of living, all are vastly different from anything that could be imagined in the West" likely influenced Tanner's development of The Annunciation[3] and subsequent settings of his religious paintings.

[3] Contemporary reviews of The Annunciation at the 1898 Salon have not been found, but later accounts show that the painting enjoyed an enthusiastic reception.

An early 1899 exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy was also met with praise, including from one critic in The Philadelphia Inquirer who called the work a "brilliant masterpiece.